Fruit pitter



SpLSO, 1952 v. c. GIORDANO 2,612,197"

FRUIT PITTER Filed Aug. l. -1949 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. Mmm/7' 6mp/,wa

WMP/VM Sept. 30, 1952 v. c. Vcal'oRDANo* 2,612,197

v FRUIT PITTER Filed Aug.' 1, 1949 4 sheets-sheet 2 Sept'. 30, 1952 v. c. GIORDANO 2,612,197

FRQIT `PITTER Filed Aug. 1, 1949 l' 4 sheets'fsheet 5 Patented Sept. 30, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 This invention relates to and in general has for its object the provision o'f a turret type ofpitter for pitting fruit such as prunes anidates More specifically theM obj ect o ff this' invention moving out of the ehuckfastle ejtoris'inaking' itsreturnstroke.

sen anotherpbject qr-this'nivenno' vision of a new and irprovedfi" chuck andpit ejecting'as'seibly vvherebyfthepi of prunes, dates, etc ca' b 'expeditiously moved without impairing'thefiiesh of t'h e f ifiiit.

The invention pos s es ses `v other advantageous features.' some of whi'c, withfuif frjgoigf Win be set forth at'length' in the following 'd cr ip tion WhereV that foixnof the inve ti`o`n' hi ch h S been selected foffinust'ft'io i'lltteqfrjawinggfa cornpanyingy and forrning. part ofr t l 1e pres ent specificationfisfotlinedinfulli I idfdravvings, one form ofthe inventionl is fs ho \vn, l a t i t is to be understood'that it isY not limited to su`c l 1 f91j{n since the invention as Vse't 'forth; i the claims may be embodied in a pl v lity. of forms.

Referringv to the dra Fig. 1 is' afr'isonin- 1fwfia1-pfteeine" embodying the obiects Qf m Yentioil., Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken onth'eeection line 3,'-3 O fFiels Fig. 4 is a vertical section takenonthe section' line4-4ofFg.1;

Fig. 5 is a mid-section of the chuck, jaw clos-- ing bells and tubular trimmer andpit ejector utilized in my pitter, the ja w s; be i r 1g s hown in their initial. clsing poeiipnfivr @Helpen Fig'fis a viewsimilaftofthatshown-in 5;V

but with the parts of the vdei/nein tneposon., assumed thereby just after the fruitpittbasf been. ejected and with the' ejector tube about to start itsireturn stroke; Fig; 7 is another view similar to Fig. 5jbutsh owf ing the chuck/,'-jaw closing bells and; tubular ejecg tor in their retracted positionV at the conclusion' of the pitting operation.' Fig. 8 is? a section taken on the section line 0fFg;6-;' v Fig.j 9. is' ar' section taken on the section'line 9-9 offFig. 6.y Frame ASI 11W/nin" Fielithelvarious essenibliejstsu# as'emblies; and the' 'driving mechanism.. forming Pabiofmy, bitterere'ellmounted; 'inia fe "cated frme; Q i v retfi11e-111er form 'including weren- DQS d eedmembersl and?L d"lowiglbpsd side m'ernbe rs3 andjll; Exten n'g"`between and Welded' tg the end imember'sl and 21s; @been '5* and rn'ountedpnthe right-hand ends of tlisbeam headv and' extending forwardly thereof are" :four

bracketsj; '24;- 25 and 216,5`symmetrically disposed about nthe` periphery of' the turret lieady 'at 190`` intervals.r Receivable lin a' semicircular cut-out formed'in each'of these-brackets are founchucks generally: designated by' the reference :numerals 21, 28,' 29 and 3|. Each' of v'these chucksincludes a jaw 'carrier 312' of annular form a'nd provided` with' af-central channel r33'for the reception" off its associated bracket and a matingclaip 34 fastened-to itsbrackets by'screws." Formed" 3 in each of the carriers 32 are six symmetrically disposed pairs of laterally aligned bores 36 and 31 and accommodated within each of these bores is a headed pin 38, the inner ends of these pins extending through holes 3-9 formed in the carrier. symmetrically disposed within each carrier are six wedge shaped jaws 4| having tapered ends 42 and stepped inner edges, each of these jaws being threaded to or otherwise fastened to one of the pairs of pins 38 (see Fig. 2)'. Surrounding each of the pins 38 between its head and the 'floor of its associated bore is a spring 43 serving to hold the jaws 4| in their retracted and fully open position as illustrated in Fig. 7. As a result of this method of mounting the jaws 4I, they are free to assume a longitudinally inclined position as shown in Fig. 5. Although the turret head 2.2 has been shown as provided with four chucks, it is to be understood that in so far as the principle of operation of the pitter is concerned, it would operate satisfactorily with a lesser or a greater number of chucks. Fastened to the slide rail I8 by a bifurcated foot 44 welded thereto and straddling the shaft 2| is a rearwardly extending bracket 44a, and welded to this bracket adjacent the inner face of the turret head 22 in an arcuate strap 45 underlying the locus of the chucks 21, 28, 29 and 3|. The upper portion of this strap serves as a support for the prunes disposed within the open chucks as the chucks travel counter-clockwise from the delivery station to the pitting station. Formed in the strap immediately to the left of the bracket 44 is a slot 46 and secured to the strap immediately to the left of this notch and extending thereinto is a trimmer knife 41. Theright end of the strap l5 terminates in a vertical portion 48 serving as a shield for preventing steam from passing to the left side of the machine. Welded to the strap 45 on the right-hand end thereof as viewed in Fig. 2 is an extension 49 serving to deflect ejected pits over the left-hand side of the lowermostchuck.

The twelve oclock position of each of the four chucks may be considered as the feed or delivery station of the pitter, its nine oclock position, assuming the turret head to rotate in a counterclockwise direction, as the pitting station' 'of the pitter, its six oclock position as the terminal discharge zone of the pitter, and its three oclock position as the steam cleaning station of the pitter.

Mounted on theA slide rail I8 are slides 5| and 52, respectively carrying brackets 53 and 54, these brackets being arranged to straddle the locus of travel on the chucks at the pitting station as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. Fastened to the bracket 53 by screws 55 is an inboard bell56 formed on its outer face with a stepped conical recess 51 and on its inner face with a cross-shaped recess 58. Disposed in the recess 58 is a resilient rubber insert 59 formed as shown in Fig. 6 with crossed cuts or slits 6| and with a central hole 62 in longitudinal registration with a hole y63 formed in the bracket 53. Fastened to the outboard bracket 54 by a clamp 64 is a conical bell65 having an outwardly extending neck 66 formed with a central bore 61 in axial alignment with the hole 63 formed in the bracket 53 and in axial aligne ment with that chuck positioned at the pitting zone. The bell 65 is provided with an inwardly diverging conical surface 6B and mounted on and extending across the bell is a narrow strap 69 having an enlarged central portion provided with an opening 1|. Journalled in the bore 61 is a shaft 12 formed with a helical groove 13, this groove-being arranged to receive the lower end jaws 4| thereby to contract the jaws upon the 4 of a pin 14 carried by a screw 15 threaded into the outer end of the bell neck 66. of this construction, any longitudinal movement of the shaft 12 relative to the bell l65 will be accompanied by a rotary motion. Welded to the inner end of the shaft 12 is a tubular pit ejector 16, the free end of which is provided with a cutting edge 11 and extends through the opening 1 As will be presently more fully described, means arefprovided for moving the two bells 58 and 65 towards and away from each other. As the two bells move towards each other, their inner inclined surfaces engage the inclined ends 42 of the fruit contained therein in a manner such as shown in Figs. 2,*5, 6, 7 and 8. Mounted in the outboard bell 65 is a nipple 18 arranged to be connected through a hose section 19 with a source of water and having an outlet opening yill disposed over the pit ejector tube 16.

f Driving mechanism Journalled in the bearings 6 and 1 is a drive shaft 9| arranged to be connected through a suitable gear reducer to an electric-motor.

Keyed to the drive shaft 9| is a Geneva drive wheel 92 formed with an arcuate Vcutout 93. Fastened to this drive wheel is a' lever 94 and mounted on the end vthereof isa roller 95. Keyed or otherwise fastened to the shaft 2| isa Geneva wheel 96v provided with four radial slots 91 located apart. As shown in Fig. 1. during the lost motion cycle between the drive wheel'92 and the Geneva wheel 96', two of the forks of the Genevawheel straddle 'the drive wheel 92 and thereby prevent the Geneva wheel fromrotating during this portion ofthe cycle. The drivewheel 92 rotates in a clockwise direction and .periodically the roller 95 is engaged in one of the slots 91 with the -result that the Geneva wheel'96 and the shaft 2| are made to rotate through 90 during each complete revolution of the drive wheel 92. This intermittent step by step rotation of the shaft 2| is transmitted to the turret head 22, thereby causing the chucks mounted thereon to travel step by step successively to the delivery station, the pitting station, the discharging zone, and the steam washing station, all as previously indicated, and to momentarily hesitate at eac-h one of vthese positions.

Keyed tothe drive shaft 9| is a sprocket wheel 98 which through a chain 99v serves `to vdrive a sprocket wheel ||l| (see Fig. 3). The sprocket wheel |0I is keyed or otherwise fastened to a shaft |82 Journalled in the bearing Iv and in an axially aligned and similar bearing mounted on theleg 9 located at the upper left-hand end of the frame as viewed in'Fig. l. J ournalled in the bearings |2 and VI9 lis a shaft |93 and keyed to this shaft is a lever |04 provided at its free end with a cam follower roller |05. Cam roller |05 is receivable in a camI track A{06f-formed in a cam dise m1 keyed to thefshaft m2.i Keyed to the shaft |03 is a rocker-arm |08 and :pivoted to the upper end thereof is a crank |69 the forward or right-hand end thereof as viewed-in Fig.v 1` being pivoted to the slide 52. Pivoted to thelower end of the rocker arm |68 is a crank section, the forward or right-hand end thereof Yas viewed in Fig. 3, being telescopically disposed in asleeve I2. Formed integral with the sleevel 2 and as an extension=thereof is acrank section ||3 the free end of which is pivoted tothe slide 5|. Disposed within thesleeve f| |2 about the section I and in engagement at one end with a head ||4 As a result Y amare? formes-onine. end bf the. section lll and at its other .end with a ange. Il@ formed on the free end of the sleeve, is a coil spring: I |6.y As a result of this. construction the slides |r and 52 and their associatedbells 5.5y and 65yaremade. to move towards and away from eachother periodicallyr in a cycle determined by: the conguration of' the cam track |06. From an inspection ofl Fig. 3 it is to be noted that thecam. track. |06 is. provided with a circular portion, ||:1 formed on aradius havingy its center: on thev axis. of the; shaft |02., and' withan opposed circular portionl I8 formed ongairadius likewisehavingits center on; the axis of the shaft |02. The track portion |.|1 subtends an angle; about; equal.' to, 903,.V and. consequently (see Fig. 3)y as thecamdisc |01 turnszinazclockwisedirection, through an: angle of.. 9|l the. bells 56 andA 65' will'V remain stationary.. In;Y the position of these members as shown in Fig. `3,. the slides 5| and` 52 have just reached their. fully openedl or expanded. position with the starting portionof the circular camtrack portion ||1 in contact with the roller |05". As thecam. disc, |01 continues to rotate in a clockwise direction, there will beine-further relative movement .of the slides 5| andn 52until the track portion ||.1 has"passed by the roller |05. When this has. been eiected, the continued. movement of: the cam'` track-will forcethe rollerV |05 tothe leftas .Viewed in Fig. 3, thereby causing the slides 5| andv 52 and their associated'bells 51|' and 65. to:approacheachA other so as to` assume their-fullyfclosed positions with the jaws of the chuck` in;v theirv contracted. or closed positionover the:` fruit as viewed in Fig. 8. The. initial portion of the circular' camv track portion ||8 then engages the'roller |05 and'since the portion ||8 is formed on a constant radius the slides5| and 52'will. againv be. stationary for an interval of ytime determined by therangle1sub= tendednby the trackporton ||8. During this portion of the cycle ofoperation the jaws 4| are in their fully open position. as required' when the chuck leaves the pitting station and remain open during ythe entire remainder of the complete cycle of operation of theipitter. y

Mounted on the left-hand end of th-e slide rail |8y -as viewed in Fig; 1 isr a -s1ide|2|1 formed integral .with a bracket' |22.' Formed onl the bracket |22 is al boss |123: provided. on one'sidewitli a threaded opening.|24 and "on its other side with arecess |25.4 Journalled in the recess` |25 isthe ilanged outer end' |26 ofthe shaft 12,' alock ring |21 being: inserted with-in the recess '|25 behind the-.flanged end of the rod' 12 forth'e purpose'of holding it in Iplace. Threaded intheopening |24 is a tting |28 and secured -thereto isa section |29 of flexible hosing arranged to communicate with a suitable source of air under pressure. Mounted on thev shaft |02 isa" cam disc |3| formed with a, closed cam track |32 of a coniiguration best shown'in Fig. 4. Welded to the lower left-hand end frame member is a bracket |33 and pivoted thereto is a lever |34. Mounted on thisv lever intermediate its ends is a cam track follower roller |35 receivable inthe cam track |32. The upper end of the lever |34 is pivoted tov a link |35 which in turn andy as best shown in Fig.- 1 is pivoted to the bracket |22. As a result of this construction, rotation oi the cam disc |3| will cause Ithe shaft 12 and its associated pit ejector tube-'16 to rotate and reciprocate under the control of the cam track |32.

From an inspection of 'Figc-4 it isto be noted that the cam track |32 isprovided with aportion |31 formed on a .constant radius having itsy center onthe aXisvof the.` shaft |02.. this portion of the track subtending. an angle; Aof about 90.9. Similarly.. the track |32- is provided with ag. portion |38.` ofa constant radius having its center lying on the axis ofA the shaft m2,. this portionv also bengsubtend'ed by anangle of substantially 90. During the engagement of these portions ofthe cam track with the roller |35 the bracket; |22 is stationary. During the. intermediate` portionsv of the cycle-.of .operation ofthe cam disc |-3'| the sha-ftl 12 is either moving-` to,;the rightI asv viewed illFig. `1 and simultaneouslyv rotating or moving to the left out of the fruitand through the; hole formed in the strap 69. The strap 69: servesy to wipe the tubular member free and clear of. any fruit iiesh which `may have adhered. thereto.

From. an inspection of Fig. 3 itis toV .be-noted that although. the slide- 52 isv reciprocated through ay predetermined distance determined byy thecam track |06, the final stage of theV movement of the slide 5| towards theslide52- proceeds under therestrainingl action ofthe spring ||6, this spring .and the telescopic crank sections and I3 serving. as alost motion connection .between the slide 5| and the cross bar |08;

Operation The operation of the pitter above described is as.follows: v I

The lfour chucks rotate step-by step through arcssuccessively to thedelivery,pitting,v discharging, and steam cleaning rstations of the pitter. The 4chuck `at the delivery station is in its fully opened position, and in this position a prune, vdate or other fruit |4"| to be pitted inserted into the open upperends of the chuck jaws, whereuponit falls to thelower end of the chuck, the lower end ,ofthefruitthen being supported onthe upper face of the strap, 45. Each of the chucks then advances to the next succeeding station. In passing f romthe. delivery station tothe pitting station, theplower tip` end of the'prune is trimmedoff by theknife 41. Upon reaching the pitting stationthe chuck jaws are stillin their fully open positionk with the prune located at the4 right-hand end of the; chuck as illustrated in Fig.v 2. At thispoint the'bells 55 and 65 .advance towards each other but with the bell'56 reachingl the inner.'y inclined ends of the chuck jaws 'in advance ofthe timeatfwhich the bell 65 reaches the. outerifinclinedends of the jaws. As a result of this action, thesinnei` ends of the jaws are brought together over the prune as shown in Fig. 5. Following this, the `further inward advance of thebell 65`serves torcontract the outer` .endsfof the chuckiaws, whereupon the jaws assume a positionlparallel to each other withl their'innertapered edges embedded in the prune as'shown in Figs. 6' and'Y 8.'4 Concurrently with this movement the tubular cutter and'ejector 1|" are advancing towards the prune. Simultaneously the ejector is rotatingand Iupon reach.; ing :the prune cuts through its skin. During .the nal forwardm'ovement ofthe tubular ejector the inner end ofthe prune .is supported by the cross `shapedrubber" insert 55|,y andthe ejector forces the pit |42 through the iiesh of the fruit and through the insert 58. In" this position of the'chuck the strapw passes between two pairs of adjacent chuck jawswith'its central portion located within the stepped rear portions of the jaws as shown in Figy. The ejected pit falls by gravity alongthe inner face ofthe bracket 53 and onto the lowerend of the'dei'lector plate or chute 49fand then downwardly past-'the lefthanden-d; ofthe: lowermost'chuck-las'viewed `in Fig. 2 and into any suitable container disposed in verticalalignmenttherewith. `If during the returnstroke of` the ejector any fruit esh adheres thereto, it will be wiped off by the strap -69 as illustrated in Fig. 7. t During the pitting operation water dripping from the fitting 18 lubricates the ejector and serves to loosen any flesh adhering thereto. 1

Upon completion ofthe pitting cycle each of the four chucks is advanced-through another 90 into its next succeeding position. Some time during this 90 travel the pitted prune falls by gravity from the pitter into any suitable receptacle or endless conveyor located beneath the machine. Y

Located at the fourth or steam washing station of the pitter in axial alignment with the chuck at this station is asteam lIiozzlerl-i connected to a suitable source of steam under pressure. The steam is ejectedl intoand through the adjacent chuck to thoroughly clean and sterilize it and during this operation the deector strap or shield 48 serves to prevent steam from reaching the prunes at the other statlons,vat least until such time as the steam has cooled and condensed,

I claim.

1. A fruit pitter comprising: a frame; a turret head journalled in said frame; a fruit holding chuck xed to and extending outwardly from one face of said turret head, said chuck including a cylindrical collar having an axis transverse to and intersecting theA axis of said turret head; a plurality of;jaws disposed star fashion in said collar and having tapered ends extending through said collar, each of said jaws being mounted on pins extending radially through said collar with positive -clearance andY said jaws being biased outwardly bysprin'gs surrounding said pins; a pitting station located adjacent the path of travel of Said chuck; a pair of coaxial, axiallyA spaced conical jaw actuatoismounted on said lframe at said pitting station and straddling the'path of travel of said chuck; a tubular pit ejector mounted on said frame coaxially with said jaw actuators and arranged` to reciprocate' therethrough; a Genevawheel mounted-on said frame in association with said turret Ahead for periodically rotat- 'ing saidv turret head to periodically position said chuck at said pitting station;v iirstcam controlled drive means mounted on said frame 'for advancing said conical jaw actuators toward each other and against the taperedjehds of the clutch jaws t thereby close saidjaws Yand for then retracting said actuators to permit said jaws to open under the inuence of said springs;- and second cam controlled drive means mounted on said frame in association with said tubular ejector for, advancing said ejector through said chuck and then retracting said ejector; l

2. A fruit pitter comprising:v a frame; a turret head journalled in said frame; a fruitholding chuck xed to and'extending outwardly from one face of said turret head, saidchuck including a cylindrical collar having an axis transverse to and intersecting the axis of said turret head; a plurality 'of jaws disposed star fashion in said collarv and having tapered ends vextending through said collar, each of said jaws being mounted on pins extending radiallythrough saidcollar with positiveclearancefand said jaws being biased outwardly by springs surrounding said pins; a pitting rs'tationlocated adjacent the path of travel of said chuck; inner and outer coaxial, axially ,spaced conical jaw actuators vmounted on said frame at said pitting station'and straddling the path of travel of said chuck, said inner jaw actuator being provided on its rear end with an elastomer insert formed with a small central hole and which serves as afruit stop; a tubular pit ejector mounted on said frame coaxially with said jaw actuators .and arranged to reciprocate therethrough; a Geneva wheel mounted on said frame in association with said turret head for periodically rotating said turret head to periodically position said chuck at said pitting station; r'st cam controlled drive means mounted on said frame for advancing said conical jaw actuators toward each other and against the tapered ends of the clutch jaws to thereby close said jaws and for then retracting said actuators to permit said jaws to open under the iniiuence of said springs; and second cam controlled drive means mounted on said frame in association with said tubular ejector for advancing said ejector through said chuck and then retracting said ejector.

3. A fruit pitter comprising: a frame; a turret head journalled in said frame; a fruit holding chuck fixed to and extending outwardly from one face of said turret head, said chuck including a cylindrical collar having an axis transverse to and intersecting the axis of said turret head; a plurality of jaws disposed star fashion in said collar and having tapered ends extending through said collar, each of said jaws being mounted on pins extending radially through said collar with positive clearance and said jaws being biased outwardly by springs surrounding said pins; a pitting station located adjacent the path of travel of said chuck; inner and outer coaxial, axially spaced conical jaw actuators mounted on said frame at said pitting station and straddling the path of travel of said chuck, a strap being mounted across the inner face of said outer jaw actuator and provided with a central opening; a tubular pit ejector mounted on said frame coaxially with said jaw actuators and arranged to reciprocate therethrough and through the opening in said strap; a Geneva wheel mounted on said frame in association with said turret head for periodically rotating said turret head to periodically position said chuck at said pitting station; first cam controlled drive means mounted on said frame for advancing said conical jaw actuators toward each other and against the tapered ends of the clutch jaws to thereby close said jaws and for then retracting said actuators yto permit said jaws to open under the' influence of said springs; and second cam controlled drive means mounted on said frame in association with said tubular ejector for advancing said ejector through said chuck and then retracting said ejector.

VINCENT C. GIORDANO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,698,477 Frova Jan. 8, 1929 1,725,223 Sturges Aug. 20, 1929 1,924,678 Curtiss Aug. 29, 1933 1,940,276 Smith Dec. 19, 1933 2,059,163 Wolfi Oct. 27, 1936 2,151,943 Sievers Mar. 28, 1939 2,485,653 Peel Oct. 25, 1949 FQREIGN PATENTS Number g, Country Date 

